STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 8, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The SAS Group investor information, including monthly traffic and capacity data - March 2002:
1. Investor news
On March 20, SAS Airline announced a new product on short haul flights and a completely new price concept. The separating curtain will disappear and be replaced by a single-class concept on all aircraft serving shorter routes. In addition, a completely new Web-based booking will be introduced as well as additional features to create a simpler and more intelligent way to travel. The changes will take place as from June 1 and is a direct response to the changed marked environment and customer trends. For business travelers, up to 30% discounts can be obtained. The introduction of the changes is expected to be neutral on SAS Arline's earnings and affect overall yields negatively by less than 1% for 2002.
The introduction of Scandinavian Direct is the first visible change in a number of initiatives in SAS Airline as an effort to restore profitability. In approximately one month, SAS Airline will also present the contents of a completely new traffic system designed to improve efficiencies and further improve passenger load factors and aircraft utilization rates.
Annual General Meeting of shareholders
The SAS Group Annual General meeting of shareholders will take place on April 17, 2002 at 16:00 CET. For details please refer to our Web-site.
2. The SAS Group traffic development
SAS Airline's passenger traffic (RPK) decreased by 0,7% and passenger load factor increased by 3,7 p.u. to a record 69,4% in March 2002 compared with 2001. Spanair and Braathens also showed significant improvements in passenger load factors up 8,6 p.u. and 7,1 p.u. respectively. These two airlines will add in excess of 30% more passengers on a group level in 2002 compared with 2001. Spanair has now ceased all intercontinental operations and Braathens has reduced domestic capacity by approximately 34%. As from April 2, SAS Airline and Braathens introduced a new traffic program on Norwegian domestic routes. Due to these large capacity reductions SAS Group overall passenger traffic (RPK) decreased by 6,2% in March 2002 vs. March 2001 and the number of passengers decreased by 12,7%. Group capacity (ASK) decreased by 13,3% and passenger load factor increased by 5,1 p.u. to 67,4%.
SAS Airline Impacted from Easter holidays
March showed record passenger load factors for SAS Airline, as capacity has been reduced and demand picks up. Business Class was negatively affected due to the placement of the Easter holidays (in March 2002 vs. in April 2001) the. SAS Airline's traffic development is sensitive to the placement of the holidays due to main focus on the Business traveler. When excluding the holidays affecting the final week of March, Business Class in SAS Airline was down approximately 10% (vs. -16% in February) compared with same period in 2001. The full March figures showed Business Class down -24,2% and Economy Class up 10,4%. It is not possible to confirm a start of an improved trend in Business Class and the uncertainty remains high. The development in Economy Class was also affected by growth on the Asian routes as the new Airbus A 340's are now introduced on all Asian destinations. The negative passenger mix in addition to a large number of price campaigns in the marketplace continues to put yields under pressure. In spite of the weak market development it is estimated that SAS Airline continued to gain market shares particularly on Intercontinental routes.
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